Well, other than Seattle, I can’t think of a better rival to face this weekend than the Kansas City Royals. I mean, there is so much to say about the Kansas City Royals, but the best thing about them is their storied past. The are to the AL what the Pittsburgh Pirates are to the NL. A team/organization that has struggled to be competitive using a lower market budget. But if you talk about their past, you talk about success. To the tune of one world series win and a handful of playoff loses. But they also featured great players like George Brett, Freddie Patek, Hal McCrae, Willie Wilson, Dan Quisenberry, Bret Saberhagen, and Dennis Leonard. Of course, you can probably make up your own list of great Royals too. So the current status of the Royals is young talent trying to make it in the bigs… again. Seems they’ve been doing that for a long time as well.
Houston Astros at the Kansas City Royals
When: July 7 through 9
Where: Kauffman Stadium (it has a fountain!)
Game One – Friday, July 7
7:15 pm CST
Jordan Lyles (3-1, 4.30 ERA) vs. James Shields (2-6, 2.83 ERA)
The Kansas City Royals have not been playing good baseball lately. They are 1-7 in their last 8 games and nothing epitomizes why this is so than James Shields. This talented right hander is not getting any type of support from his mates to get some wins under his belt. His 2-6 won/loss record does not tell the story as much as his 2.83 ERA does. On the other side is Jordan Lyles. The young Mr. Lyles has had a rocky major league career so far, but in the last few outings, he has shown the promise once bestowed upon him an arm that can help this club as a starter. Nothing says “turning it around” as a well located changeup does and right now, Lyles is featuring that pitch more and more. That is keeping hitters off his fastball well enough that he is getting the team into more positions to win ballgames. And lo and behold, they have been doing just that. It helps the Houston starters to know that the Royals lately struggle to win games at home.
Game two – Saturday, July 8
6:15 pm CST
Erik Bedard (1-2, 4.76) vs. Ervin Santana (3-5, 3.03)
It looked for all concerned that Erik Bedard was done for this season. Apparently a stint in the bullpen help him somehow, because he has come back to the starting rotation and this time the guy is being so precise with his location. In his last four games, he’s gone 3-1 and has pitched masterfully in those wins. In the lost? Not so well, but he kept his team in the hunt for the win and that’s good. On the other side is Ervin Santana, a one time Anaheim Angel. Yet another hard-luck Royals starter, Santana has lost his last seven games in a row, in spite of pitching well into the seventh in five of those games and into the sixth in the other two. Every loss he’s taken have been winable games, all by one or two run deficits. Given the way Bedard has pitched lately, how the Royals can’t seem to win in Kauffman, and how bad luck stricken Santana has been, looks like a very good chance for Bedard to pick up a W.
Game Three – Sunday, July 9
1:10 pm CST
Lucas Harrell (4-7, 4.97 ERA) vs. Luis Mendoza (1-3, 4.76 ERA)
Lucas Harrell was supposed to be the #1 starter on this team. He’s not. He’s pretty much has had hot and cold outings, but overall, he’s just been mediocre. So who does he face off against? Another mediocre pitcher in Luis Mendoza. My prediction is fireworks… lots and lots of fireworks. Hopefully many more coming from the Houston side than Kansas City. Juneberno.
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